Poll: 21% say Ted Cruz is GOP leader

In the wake of the government shutdown and criticism from leading Democrats, Sen. Ted Cruz is still seen as as the leader of the Republican party among GOP voters, a new poll shows.

Cruz led a field of other Republican lawmakers with 21 percent of GOP voters saying they seem him as the top Republican, according to the poll released Friday by the left leaning Public Policy Polling. Trailing the Texas senator were Chris Christie with 17 percent and Speaker John Boehner with 15 percent. Among Cruz’s Senate colleagues were Rand Paul with 9 percent, John McCain with 7 percent and Mitch McConnell with 4 percent. National figures like Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin recieved eight percent and four percent, respectively.

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While he hardly received the support of even a quarter of Republican respondents, Cruz still seemed to fare better among the base despite reports of tensions and anger within the GOP towards him. Even Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid suggested a Cruz presidential bid in 2016 “would mean the end of the Republican Party.”

However, PPP reports that Christie has the most broad support with 23 percent of Democrats and 25 percent of independents seeing the N.J. governor as the Republican party leader. Cruz only receives 10 percent from Democrats and 17 percent from independents.

Congress continues to endure a lack of confidence with only 6 percent of respondents approving of the job it’s doing and 87 percent disapproving. Democrats doing slightly better than the GOP with a 40 percent approval rating, compared to 23 percent of voters approving of the GOP. President Barack Obama also has lackluster support as new revelations on the NSA spying emerged and criticisms continue to mar the rollout of Obamacare. Forty-six percent of voters approve of the job the president’s doing, with 50 percent disapproving.

The poll was conducted Oct. 29-Oct. 31 and surveyed 649 voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.